Saturday, July 08, 2006

Diamond Fantasy Shawl #2

... is finished and blocked. I've been very loosely following the KAL at Sivia Harding's Yahoo group although I've not been a good contributor... I've wittered about the yarn choice, and guilt, before but this Kaalund Expressions mohair, blocked, is the most beautiful thing; it's almost not there - I have a 2.10m (76") by 1m (39") shawl which weighs just less than 100g... Feels like a completely different shawl to the previous scarf-size version I knitted last year in Wildefoote sock yarn, which I also love... Here it is blocking - 'severely' as per instructions; which is actually pretty easy because the I-cord cast-off Sivia specifies makes the top edge incredibly stable and you know exactly how far it'll go...

Here's the lace detail shot - it's lovely lace to work because there are no complicated stitches to work at all. The only temptation is to put in extra yarn-overs in either side of central stitches; but you can get away with dropping those discreetly once you've realised what you've done, and they come out in the blocking...

As I was heading back into the house, having taken the obligatory 'draped-over-a-bush' shot for the Photos section of the Yahoo files (if I get brave on Tuesday night and the weather's OK, I'll persuade someone to take a pic of me actually wearing the thing at the Cambridge KTog - it's really that nice...) I spotted the Tranquil Face, which is currently bereft of plants, and thought 'why not'...

Otherwise, it's all been a bit weird. Matilda (aka Tild, aka Pig, aka Unwonted-Attention-to-Visitors-up-to-and-including-Trouser-Ruination-Cat) had a fairly major operation on Monday (Medically: middle ear and bulla removal, half her head shaved, uncounted numbers of stitches, polyp sent off to the lab. Financially: think of the French Lieutenant's Woman's cloak. Now think of it knitted in Koigu. Yes.) so I have the Continuing Fun of Antibiotics followed by the frisson of keeping her indoors while allowing the other (pedigree-but-feral) cat some sort of a life. It's not working, folks. But hey. The litter tray has turned into some kind of conquest zone - although small cat doesn't have to use it, she does it to mark territory, and then we're off to the races...